It is common in certain fields, such as in plumbing, heating and home maintenance systems, to use dispensing devices to dispense materials, such as caulking, glue, adhesive, sealant or other substances. More particularly, the use of a caulking gun to dispense material from a conventional caulking cartridge is known in the prior art. There are, however, certain limitations to the effective application of caulking materials to the location where it is needed, particularly in crowded spaces, such as around heating ducts located in rafters and the like.
Over time there has been developed various devices to facilitate the dispensing or application of caulking material to difficult-to-reach places, for example, by modifying the design of the caulking gun, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,920. Others have redesigned the nozzle to facilitate the application of caulking material in difficult-to-reach locations, such as the caulking nozzle that is beveled on three sides, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,551. Still others have provided for extensions, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,258,884 (Rogers), or curved or flexible nozzle extensions, such as that disclosed in, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,128 (Richici et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,716 (O'Sullivan), U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,380 (Ables) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,712 (Esber et al.), the teachings of which patents are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The bendable caulking nozzle extension device of the present invention relates to this latter group of curved or flexible nozzle extensions. The prior art of curved or flexible nozzle extensions, however, suffer from several shortcomings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,716 discloses a caulking nozzle assembly that comprises a separate rigid curved tube that fits over a flexible caulk dispensing tube to hold the nozzle in a curved position. The caulking material within the caulk cartridge is then directionally dispensed in accordance with the curved shape imposed upon the caulk dispensing tube by the shape of the rigid curved tube. Such a flexible caulking nozzle, however, only permits for standardized directional dispensing in accordance with the shape of the rigid curved tube and thus limits the usefulness of the device. Moreover, the use of a two part assembly not only contributes to the cost of manufacture of this type of flexible caulking nozzle, but raises the possibility of losing a part of the assembly should it become detached from the other part.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,712 discloses a flexible caulk tube nozzle that comprises an accordion flexible section positioned between a tapered nozzle end portion and caulk tube attachment portion to provide a mechanism for orienting the tapered nozzle end portion at a desired angle. The ability of such an accordion flexible section to bend, however, is limited by the construction of the accordion, for example, the width of the pleats of the accordion or the distances therebetween. As a result, such an accordion flexible section only permits such a flexible caulk tube nozzle to reach a limited number of difficult-to-reach places, a shortcoming also shared by the prior art devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,004,128 and 5,346,380.
Additionally, known prior art flexible caulk tube nozzles such as that taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,346,380 and 6,076,712 typically require the operator of a caulking gun utilizing such a flexible caulk tube nozzle to use both hands to operate the flexible caulk tube nozzle, one hand to guide and hold the tapered nozzle end portion against the work surface where the caulking material is being applied, and the other hand to hold the caulking gun and activate its dispensing trigger. The flexible caulk tube nozzle is, therefore, further limited by the ability of its operator to position his or her guide hand, particularly in tight working spaces, thereby to guide the tapered nozzle end portion.
Moreover, the use of a caulking gun to dispense material from a conventional caulking cartridge is known to generate significant back-pressure within the tube or barrel of the extension, such that it is not uncommon for known prior art nozzle extensions to ‘pop’ off the tapered nozzle of conventional caulking tubes or cartridges during use. This is not only frustrating for the user, but is inefficient and messy. The operator of a caulking gun may, therefore, be further concerned with ensuring that prior art nozzle extensions remain in place during the application of the caulking material to the work surface.
The present invention addresses these and other problems and shortcomings associated with the prior art by providing a caulking nozzle extension device that represents a significant improvement over known prior art caulking nozzle extension devices. More specifically, the present invention: (a) is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture; (b) is quickly and easily attachable to a wide variety of conventional caulking tubes or cartridges for effective dispensing of material therefrom; (c) provides attachment means that ensures that the caulking nozzle extension device will not become detached from the tapered nozzle of a conventional caulking tube or cartridge in use; (d) allows for one-handed use by an operator; (e) facilitates access to difficult-to-reach places from angles and distances determined by its operator and not by the construction or geometry of the device itself.